AC Milan had to work harder than expected at home to give their fans their first Champions League joy
First suffering and then overcome thanks to his numerical superiority, but still without showing a convincing version, the Milan This Tuesday he achieved his first victory in Champions League against Bruges (3-1)which he won by the minimum thanks to a great Olympic goal from Pulisic and the saving double of Reijnders.
He had to work more than expected Milan at home to give their fans their first European joy. It came in a game in which he did not play well, in which he once again sowed doubts and in which only favorable circumstances, embodied in numerical superiority from the 40th minute, allowed him to add his first three points.
Pulisic and Milan celebrate against Club Brugge EFE/EPA/DANIEL DAL ZENNARO
Because Fonseca’s team experienced a roller coaster ride against the Belgians. He went from being against the ropes in the first minutes to having everything in his face before finishing the first act with the goal of Pulisic and the expulsion of Onyedika. However, just at their best moment, the ‘Rossoneri’ had to put on their overalls again when Bruges, with one less, managed to tie the match, setting off alarm bells in the San Siro.
He suffered constant attacks from a Witches unleashed at San Siro, which forced Mike Maignan to save the furniture. First with a hit from Tzolis in the 2nd minute. Then it was Jutglá with a shot that went slightly high in the 3rd minute. Another from Tzolis from the left-handed profile of the attack that made Maignan stretch at the long post. And, the clearest, a shot from Ordóñez that crashed into the crossbar. All in 10 heart-stopping minutes.
Intimidated Milanlacking ideas in the center of the field, turned his attack to the left profile of his offense, where Rafael Leao He was in charge of trying to dismantle Bruges’ well-established defensive framework, determined to come away with a loot from Giuseppe Meazza.
It was the Portuguese winger who was responsible for the Milan had a clear opportunity. He generated it with one of his drives inward, jumping opponents and giving in at the right moment to Pulisic, who unsuccessfully shot Mignolet.
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He did nothing else Milan dangerous in the first half. Because not even his first goal was on a scoreboard occasion. It was a closed center Pulisic in the 34th minute, which neither Morata nor Gabbia reached, but ended up meekly entering Mignolet’s goal, who was expecting a deviation.
It was the first hard blow of the game. The second, a completely mistimed entry by Onyedika that ended, OUR through, with his expulsion. Milan had it in their hands but, far from closing it out, as soon as the second half began, they conceded the tying goal in a play in which it seemed that the team with numerical superiority was Bruges.
A long possession, from side to side, moving the Milan. A play that ended up being finished off by the right back Sabbe, joining unmarked from the second line and crossing the impossible ball for Maignan, who could not believe the goal his team had conceded with one more player.
Fonseca had to move the bench and brought on Chukwueze and Okafor to stir up the hornet’s nest. No sooner said than done. Barely a minute after the changes, Okafor invented a fantastic play on the baseline that allowed him to leave the ball perfectly, low, at Reijnders in the heart of the area. The Dutchman defined first and returned the smile to the San Siro stands.
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Shocked by the surprise, now definitely superior, with the party tamed and controlled, physically superior and taking advantage of the wear and tear of the Belgians, the Milan managed to sentence. It was the same scorer, with an equally constructed play, but with a different profile. Chukwueze imitated Okafor and let Reijnders score the final 3-1.
The fourth of the match could have arrived, historic if it had not been offside, after a header from Francesco Camarda, the youth player who would have become the youngest scorer in the history of the ‘Champions’, surpassing Ansu Fati.
It could have been a perfect ending to a strange night, in which he suffered much more than expected and once again revealed his shortcomings. But after Liverpool y Leverkusenthe first victory of the Milan and ‘Champions’.
Rafael Leao fights for the ball with Ardon Jashari of Bruges AP Photo/Antonio Calani
